Previous to accepting the invitation to serve as vice president, Laurie served as a powerful and indispensable member of Affirmation’s Board of Directors. She served as the head of our governance committee, consistently bringing insight and organizational prowess to Affirmation’s leadership team

As president of Affirmation, I want to see Affirmation flourish with a brightness of hope that will illuminate the most vulnerable in the LDS LGBTQ+ community. I want to see a robust network of supportive communities within Affirmation available for those who have made or are making their own reconciliation journey, where ever you are (or are not) on the faith spectrum.

Following the announcement of the adoption of changes to the Affirmation Bylaws and Constitution, a call for presidential candidates was made during the 2018 Affirmation International Conference. The following is the plan for the 2018 Affirmation presidential election.

Thanks to a $25,000 grant from the LDS Foundation, QPR Institute training on suicide prevention will be provided to Affirmation leaders and at Affirmation conferences worldwide. Affirmation will also make training on trauma and suicide prevention available online at no cost.

Through this art exhibit, Melinda seeks to open the hearts of those inside our religion who view others as “different,” and hopes to offer a pathway that helps all us love one another unconditionally—the same way she knows God loves each of us.

LGBTQ+ Mormons, family members, and friends sat down with Kendall Wilcox to share what Affirmation means to them, how finding the Affirmation community has changed their lives, and how they want to support others working within Affirmation.

Recent Posts

Absolutists don’t exist “in and of themselves.” As we come to the time of General Conference, we relativists need to listen carefully for those knife-edged messages that can slice the hearts of those most fragile among us and be vocal in saying, “I don’t think so.”

For me, my sexual orientation and my Mormonism are paralleled in my struggles as a bisexual woman. I’ve felt pulled between two communities I love dearly. The truth is I can’t deny my Mormon identity, motivation, and beliefs any more than I could deny that I’m attracted to multiple genders.

Affirmation Brazil is rolling up their sleeves to do something in their country to help these people. We are hosting a symposium and inviting other organizations helping the LGBT population on September 25th in São Paulo.

I always wondered why my father, who always encouraged people to go to church, to pray, and to read the scriptures, did not enter the church with others on Sundays. My mom decided to tell us that our dad was gay.

Today I am a person who succeeded in life, for everything I struggled for and sought, I became a confident and determined person. With all that happened, I never lost my faith and spirituality. Today I accept myself. My family accepts me. Most important of all, I built new castles for my life.

What do we do when we begin to realize that our evolving identity, the genuine identity that causes us to be happy, the one we feel called into, the one that is honest, no longer fits or meshes within a culture?

In our, very, very, Mormon world, being gay was just… never an option. It was so far outside the realm of something we’d even considered possible that, by the time we accepted it for what it was, we were married with children, our lives inextricably entangled.

I took a deep breath, sat down on the bed with my face to the wall and my back to my husband. He said something about my needing to hear him out and not overreact. I agreed, and finally, he said, “I am gay.”

All of us approach general conference in our own way, based on where we are and what is right for us. That’s between us and God or our higher power. Keep an open mind, and allow yourself the opportunity to discover something you didn’t know before that speaks truth to you. The source may surprise you.